Camps Colby, DeBruce, Rushford, & Pack Forest
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- Camp Colby (Northern Adirondacks)
- Pack Forest (Southern Adirondacks)
- Camp DeBruce (Catskills)
- Camp Rushford (Western NY)
Camper cabins at Camp Colby
Camp Colby
Campers ages 11-13 Weeks 1-3 & 6-7
Campers ages 14-17 Week 4-5
Camp Colby is located on the western shore of Lake Colby, just outside the Village of Saranac Lake, in the Adirondacks.
Formerly a private estate, Colby was purchased by the State in 1961 from William Morris of the William Morris Theatrical Agency. During Morris' ownership, it was known as Camp Intermission because theatrical clients were invited there for rest, relaxation and to get away from hectic city life. When you turn into Camp Colby the gate pillars still bear the comedy and tragedy masks from its past.
Camp Colby
90 Camp Colby Road
Saranac Lake, NY 12983
Travel time from major cities
Buffalo: 5 hours 45 minutes
Rochester: 5 hours
Syracuse: 3 hours 45 minutes
Albany: 2 hours 30 minutes
New York City: 5 hours
Camper cabins at Pack Forest
Pack Forest
Campers ages 14-17 Weeks 1-5
Campers ages 11-13 Weeks 6 & 7
Pack Forest, DEC's newest camp, opened in 1997. The camp is located in the southern Adirondacks on 2,500 acres of woodlands. The property includes an 85-acre lake and miles of trails leading to mountain vistas, marshes and the banks of the Hudson River. Pack Forest was named after Charles Lathrop Pack. Pack purchased the land to be used as a teaching and demonstration forest and gave it to the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry to fulfill this goal. Today, Pack Forest is still used as a teaching forest by SUNY as well as for the DEC Summer Camp.
Pack Forest
276 Pack Forest Road
Warrensburg, NY 12885
Travel Time from Major Cities
Buffalo: 5 hours
Rochester: 4 hours 15 minutes
Syracuse: 3 hours
Albany: 1 hour 15 minutes
New York City: 3 hours 30 minutes
Camper cabins at DeBruce
Camp DeBruce
CLOSED 2023
Camp DeBruce is situated on over 300 acres adjacent to the Catskill Forest Preserve. Formerly a private estate and fish hatchery, DEC acquired Camp DeBruce in the 1940s and converted it into a conservation education camp. DeBruce was the second DEC Summer camp open and is the longest running of the four camps in operation today. It is within walking distance of natural forests, trout streams, the Catskill Fish Hatchery and Mongaup Pond State Public Campsite. It sits among some high-quality trout streams and fly fishing remains a popular activity at the camp today.
Camp DeBruce
307 Mongaup Road
Livingston Manor, NY 12758
Travel Time from Major Cities
Buffalo: 5 hours 15 minutes
Rochester: 4 hours
Syracuse: 2 hours 30 minutes
Albany: 2 hours
New York City: 2 hours 20 minutes
Camper cabins at Rushford
Camp Rushford
Campers ages 11-13 Weeks 1-2 & 5-7
Campers ages 14-17 Weeks 3 & 4
Rushford is part of the 4,500 acre Hanging Bog Wildlife Management Area two miles southwest of Rushford Lake in western New York. The Hanging Bog Wildlife Management Area provides a unique and diverse environment for outdoor learning. Campers can explore natural hardwood forests, conifer plantations, fields, streams and marshes and the bog for which the area is named. Camp Rushford is the only DEC Camp specifically designed and built as a conservation education camp. The two main buildings are constructed of logs salvaged from the Adirondacks after the blow down of 1950.
Camp Rushford
8717 Rush Creek Road
Caneadea, NY 14717
Travel time from major cities
Buffalo: 1 hour 15 minutes
Rochester: 2 hours
Syracuse: 3 hours
Albany: 5 hours
New York City: 6 hours
